"Don't understand why she made a fuss, she made trouble for herself" - Amarissa Kiara Toth after Hungarian Open controversy against Zhang Shuai

The match between Zhang Shuai and Amarissa Kiara Toth at the Hungarian Open on Tuesday (July 18) was marred by controversy, as the Chinese player was forced to retire after breaking down on the court.

The events in Budapest sparked widespread criticism of the umpiring and also of clay court tournaments' reluctance to adopt line-calling technology. But what garnered even more attention was Toth's alleged lack of sportsmanship during the match.

The incident started when a ball was called out during a critical point in the first set, with the score tied at 5-5 and 15-all. Zhang Shuai was certain that the ball had hit the line, but the umpire disagreed.

Zhang wanted to have a consultation with a supervisor, which the commentators appeared to agree with. Zhang then won the next point, but things were about to get much worse.

At 30-30, Amarissa Kiara Toth walked up to the mark left by the called-out ball and erased it with her shoe. From her side of the net, Zhang Shuai yelled:

"Wait, wait, wait, keep the mark! What are you doing? Why would you do that?"

Zhang then summoned the physio before deciding to withdraw from the tie, while trailing 5-6. She shook hands with the chair umpire and Toth, but the crowd booed the Chinese even as the local player lifted her arms in celebration.

Following the controversial incident, Amarissa Kiara Toth sat down for an interview and spoke candidly, saying she didn't understand why her opponent made such a big deal out of it. The Hungarian, in fact, was of the opinion that Zhang caused trouble for herself by refusing to accept the umpire's decision.

"I didn’t understand why she made such a fuss out of it, that she wanted to overrule the judge’s decision. I don’t understand why she didn’t accept it, but she made trouble for herself," Toth told Radio Kossuth.

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"I love you guys and all girls who supporting me and standing my side" - Zhang Shuai

Zhang Shuai pictured at the Rothesay International Eastbourne - Day Three

Zhang Shuai took to Twitter hours after the incident to thank her colleagues and fans for their support throughout the event, while also addressing the line call.

"All efforts on practice was wrong , because when you wanted hitting closer to the line , even touched the line still OUT ….. I love you guys and all girls who supporting me and standing my side," she said.

"A lot of players /fans such warm messages , love you guys and really appreciated again. Move forward stay strong," she added.

Screenshot from Shuai's Twitter account.